7/21/17 - Programming Update

Worked on the resource collection today. My goal is to complete the resource collection, player combat capability (including both melee and ranged) as well as possibly creating some behavior for some of the buildings by Wednesday. My fellow programmer is working on the UI for the game.

Definitely a big challenge for me is to learn how to delegate work as a team lead. It's hard not to be too picky with the way people do things, as everyone does things in there own way. It is something I'll get the hang of though! As for the art, progress is still being made but unfortunately I have nothing to show at this time.

Similar Content

I'm creating a 2D game engine using Vulkan.
I've been looking at how to draw different textures (each GameObject can contain its own texture and can be different from others). In OpenGL you call glBindTexture and in vulkan I have seen that there are people who say that you can create a descriptor for each texture and call vkCmdBindDescriptorSets for each. But I have read that doing this has a high cost.
The way I'm doing it is to use only 1 descriptor for the Sampler2D and use a VkDescriptorImageInfo vector where I add each VkDescriptorImageInfo for each texture and assign the vector in pImageInfo.
VkWriteDescriptorSet samplerDescriptorSet;
samplerDescriptorSet.pNext = NULL;
samplerDescriptorSet.sType = VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_WRITE_DESCRIPTOR_SET;
samplerDescriptorSet.dstSet = descriptorSets[i];
samplerDescriptorSet.dstBinding = 1;
samplerDescriptorSet.dstArrayElement = 0;
samplerDescriptorSet.descriptorType = VK_DESCRIPTOR_TYPE_COMBINED_IMAGE_SAMPLER;
samplerDescriptorSet.descriptorCount = static_cast<uint32_t>(samplerDescriptors.size());
samplerDescriptorSet.pImageInfo = samplerDescriptors.data();
//samplerDescriptors is the vector
Using this, I can skip creating and binding a descriptor for each texture but now I need an array of Samplers in fragment shader. I can't use sampler2DArray because each texture have different sizes so I decided to use an array of Samplers2D (Sampler2D textures[n]). The problem with this is that I don't want to set a max number of textures to use.
I found a way to do it dynamically using:
#extension GL_EXT_nonuniform_qualifier : enable
layout(binding = 1) uniform sampler2D texSampler[];
I never used this before and don't know if is efficient or not. Anyways there is still a problem with this. Now I need to set the number of descriptor count when I create the descriptor layout and again, I don't want to set a max number you can use:
VkDescriptorSetLayoutBinding samplerLayoutBinding = {};
samplerLayoutBinding.binding = 1;
samplerLayoutBinding.descriptorCount = 999999; <<<< HERE
samplerLayoutBinding.descriptorType = VK_DESCRIPTOR_TYPE_COMBINED_IMAGE_SAMPLER;
samplerLayoutBinding.pImmutableSamplers = nullptr;
samplerLayoutBinding.stageFlags = VK_SHADER_STAGE_FRAGMENT_BIT;
Having said that. How can I solve this? Or which is the correct way to do this efficiently?
If you need more information, just ask.
Thanks in advance!

Hello,
We are an American based videogame development team that crafts games utilizing neural networks, handcrafted art, studio quality audio, and immersive storytelling to provide the player with an unforgettable experience. Our current team comprises of a Software Engineer, Designer, Producer, Audio Engineer, and a systems admin. Obviously we are missing an art staff! Now, that being said, we have outsourced our concept art for the game to an experienced artist. We are wanting talent to join us to take it the rest of the way with animation and art. If you are interested in joining the team and feel that you are ready to work along a committed team, send a sample of your work and contact information to HereticRecruitment@HereticArts.com.
Job Specifics:
General:
Unpaid. This is normal. We all have fulltime careers outside of the team, but if there is money to be made upon release, it will be split evenly - no questions asked.
All expenses are paid by Administrative Team (GSuite account). So no worries - We want someone to join, have fun and create with us!
Expectations of meeting weekly (via internet) and taking direction from producer.
Open minded
Skill sets:
Experience in designing and creating character art.
Full adobe suite.
Maya experience preferred.
Experience with developing for the Unity Engine.
Willing to work with design team to incorporate their ideas into art.
Knowledge of game design documentation and how it pertains to art creation.
In depth sprite animation knowledge.

Hello Friends!,
I'm looking for enthusiastic Java Programmers and 2D Artist that have nice attitudes and are in love with their work.

What the Project is about
I want to make this project very flexible and beneficial for all my partners, so we will be working on a basic 2D Gaming library that can be used to easily create fantastic 2D games. (in our vision)
and while this library is under development we will be creating a 2D farm game to test the libraries features, this will be officially the first game we are going to release using our library.
-----------------------------------------------------------

I don't really prefer any advance skill sets just these basics.
Java Programmers
1. Really understand the core concepts of Object Oriented Programming (The most important to me, Im looking for partners that can create core classes the rest of the project will use)
2. Understand how a Thread is created, handled and ran safely. (This isn't super important because threads are already setup, but you will need to know how to handle them)
3. Understand how to 2D graphics are created, handled and drawn safely. (graphics are also setup, just need a basic (and mathematical) understanding on how to draw with it)
4. Must have a basic understanding of pre-calculus, and algebra. (this is optional for the most part, I only need one Developer that is efficient in these).

DeadLine
There will be no deadline, this is a project setup for people who have busier schedules, we will only work on our free time (it will add up! )
----------------------------------------------------

I hope I find some artist and developers that are interested, if you want to contact me you can reply to this thread or simply message me on discord ( codyorr4#2329 )

GameDaily.Biz spoke to Improbable about its new shortcuts to multiplayer game development for Unity and Unreal.

Improbable helps game developers build believable online worlds with its bespoke technology, SpatialOS. Now, that task is much easier and accessible for those building games on the technology with the recent release of the SpatialOS Game Development Kit (GDK) for Unity. With these kits, Improbable hopes that developers find it easier to create vast, dynamic and unique worlds.
This GDK for Unity includes a 200-gamer, first-person project that allows developers to experiment and tinker with their ideas for what their vision of a multiplayer game will look like.
GameDaily.Biz met with Improbable’s Head of Product Marketing, Paul Thomas, and Head of Comms, Daniel Nye Griffiths, to speak about the SpatialOS GDK for Unity, as well as the upcoming launch of the SpatialOS GDK for Unreal Engine.
In its first week, the SpatialOS GDK for Unity achieved over 2,000 developer sign ups to use it. “What we're trying to do is basically make it really fast for people to build multiplayer games,” said Thomas. “It comes with all the multiplayer networking so that developers don’t have to do any multiplayer networking. It comes with feature modules to allow [easy] solutions to common multiplayer problems, like player movement and shooting. And it comes with a cool starter project where you have 200 players in a free-for-all scenario. You can obviously use the power of SpatialOS to scale that project up to more players, with NPCs, and things like that. It gives people a really good base to start building multiplayer games.”
There are several games currently in development or early access that utilize SpatialOS. The first into Early Access was Spilt Milk Studios’ Lazarus, a space MMO where the player becomes a pilot in a universe that ends every week, complete with a map that’s twice the size of Austria. Additionally, Bossa Studios released its survival exploration game Worlds Adrift into Steam Early Access earlier this year.
Also using SpatialOS is Scavengers from Midwinter Entertainment, a studio founded by former 343 Industries studio head and Halo 4 Creative Director, Josh Holmes; the game is heavily inspired by his Halo 5: Guardians’ multiplayer mode, Warzone. Right alongside that company, Berlin-based Klang Studios is working on Seed, a simulation MMO that, according to its developers, lets players “interact and collaborate to create a world driven by real emotion and aspiration.”
According to Thomas, for those looking to use the SpatialOS GDK for Unity, there is no limit to what their games can do with Improbable’s tech.
“What we're doing is expanding the possible gameplay you can do. Traditionally, when you make a multiplayer game, you're constrained by one single server. So you can say you have a 64-player game with a handful of NPCs or you could have a world that's 3km by 3km. With Spatial, you can go beyond that, test a much broader canvas to start thinking about different gameplay.”
“You can go for a massive online persistent MMO with 10,000 players and hundreds of thousands of NPCs, something very, very vast and big like that. But you can also have smaller experiences. For example, there's a lot of interesting space in just extending what you see in the Battle Royale genre and session-based gameplay.”
Thomas continued: “Our partners at Automaton have a game in development called Mavericks. The interesting thing there is they have a Battle Royale with 1,000 people, but what I really find interesting is the gameplay mechanics they've put in, like footprints so you can track people. They've added a cool fire propagation mechanic so you can start a fire that spreads across the map and changes the world. Or you can add destructible buildings and things like that.”
“So I think even looking at smaller scale games, we add a lot of value in terms of the new gameplay you can start adding. I'm just interested to see what people do with this extra power - what they can come up with.”
While Battle Royale games and MMOs are obvious standouts for genres that best fit with SpatialOS, Thomas introduced some other ideas of genres that could benefit from the technology.
“I also think there's a space for very interesting MMORTSs as well,” he said. “An RTS where you have persistent systems, like telling AIs to do things and then coming back to them a week later and seeing what's happened is an interesting space.”
“I also see interesting mobile experiences that could come up. Having these worlds where you lay down some interesting things and then come back a few weeks later to see how they've evolved and changed, and the massive player interaction. Say for example with Pokemon Go, we can actually roam around the world and battle on the streets. I can see something like that working very well. Again, these are just ideas we've had and talked to people about. It's about giving people that flexibility and the ability to explore these ideas.”
Klang’s Seed
Griffiths added the possibility of events in a game that will have a massive, rippling, and lasting impact on its world as something that has people excited. One example he gives is how someone on one side of the map can do something that’ll have a knock-on effect for the rest of the world in real time.
“There's a whole bunch of different angles you can take, some of which are about much larger player numbers or a much larger map, but there are other things you can do which are taking a relatively constrained game experience, a smaller map, a smaller number of players and adding richness to the game as well.”
In fact, this is something that Thomas refers to as a “persistent in memory database,” meaning that for every object in the game world, there’s a history. Two examples cited by Thomas: “...a player could chop down a tree and that tree stays disappeared forever. Or a player can kill a big monster that was raiding a town and that town no longer gets raided by that monster, and this changes the dynamics of the world. Worlds can have a history. That means players can have a lot more meaning in these MMO worlds.”
“Normally in MMOs, they're kinda like roller coaster rides: you go into a dungeon, you kill the boss and that guy respawns. It all resets,” Thomas continues. “But in Spatial MMOs, you could have these persistent effects that should change the gameplay meaningfully for all the rest of the player base.”
“The other one I think that is interesting is the level of dynamism that you could have. So because you can have so much more server-side compute, you could potentially have NPCs roaming around the world changing their mind and deciding all of a sudden, 'oh, we're going to attack this player's base' or 'we're gonna go attack this town' and they have a lot more range and emotion and intelligence to them that you'd not see in other MMOs.
“Normally in MMOs, NPCs sit there tethered. You go near them and they come and attack you, you run away, and they go back to where they were. In a Spatial MMO, that NPC can trace you across the whole map or a group of them can decide to get together and attack someone..”

Bossa Studios' Worlds Adrift

Next week, Improbable plans to launch its SpatialOS GDK for Unreal Engine, which will have a big focus on ease of use for access to Unreal, as well as a big emphasis on porting your projects to SpatialOS.
“One of the things we'll be trying to push is a porting guide so you'll be able to take your existing Unreal game, move it onto SpatialOS and then you can grow to expand it with new and extra gameplay,” says Thomas. “ You can bring across your existing Unreal game and it feels very, very native and similar to Unreal if you're familiar with Unreal.”
Griffiths continued, explaining how testing these experiences includes free cloud deployments, to a certain point. “If you're developing in SpatialOS in other ways, we provide a sandbox environment so you can get your game running. When you’re happy, you can port it over and sort of experiment with it in a free sandbox environment with a small number of cores to get started.”
Based on what we learned, Improbable’s SpatialOS GDK for Unity will give developers enhanced flexibility to produce more in depth and engaging videos games. That said, we look forward to catching up with the company in the near future to see how this exciting technology is being used in the different games that we play.